Today marks the 60th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to desegregate public schools. President Obamapaid tribute to the 1954 milestone with a White House address, attended by families of the plaintiffs, lead attorneys in the case Jack Greenberg and William Coleman and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

He described the Brown vs. Board of Education as “the first major step in dismantling the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that justified Jim Crow.”

“As we commemorate this historic anniversary, we recommit ourselves to the long struggle to stamp out bigotry and racism in all their forms,” the president said. “We reaffirm our belief that all children deserve an education worthy of their promise. And we remember that change did not come overnight, that it took many years and a nationwide movement to fully realize the dream of civil rights for all of God’s children.”